Tell Me (Diddy song)
Encyclopedia
"Tell Me" is the second single from Diddy
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...

's 2006 album, Press Play. The song features Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

 and is produced by Just Blaze
Just Blaze
Justin Smith, better known as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop music producer from Paterson, New Jersey. Blaze is also the CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment. He is most well known for producing Jay-Z songs on the albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album. He is also known for...

. According to All Access, the single hit radio stations on November 7, 2006.

Background

This song was originally created as a demo track to test pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 group Danity Kane
Danity Kane
Danity Kane was an American female music group signed to Bad Boy Records, first established in 2005. Formed on the third installment of MTV's Making the Band reality television series, the quintet comprised members Aubrey O'Day, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard, and Aundrea...

 but Diddy decided to use Christina Aguilera for the song.

The song was co-written by R&B singer / songwriters Steve "Static" Garrett & Yummy Bingham
Yummy Bingham
Elizabeth T. Wyce Bingham a.k.a. Yummy is an American R&B/hip hop singer, songwriter. She sings soprano with a 4 octave range.-Biography:Elizabeth "Yummy" Bingham was born on January 7, 1986 to Dinky Bingham and Patricia Wyce...

. Diddy's rap was written with Royce da 5'9".

The song had general success but failed to be a major hit in US, most likely due to lack of promotion.
"Tell Me" has met critical acclaim, and has been hailed as one of the stand-outs on Press Play.

Music video

The video for "Tell Me" was shot during the last week of September 2006 in Los Angeles and was directed by Erik White. The video was premiered on TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...

 October 30, 2006. The Video entered the TRL charts two days later at number 10. In the UK the video was premiered on the 17th November, 2006 being the same day Aguilera kicked off her world tour.

In the beginning of the video the stereo equipment shown is the Beocenter 2 DVD player, Beolab 8000 speakers, and the Beo 4 remote control from Bang & Olufsen. The TV that is used is a Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...

 plasma TV. The Modernist club chair is an iconic LC2 Grand Confort Petite Model Armchair, designed by Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...

 in 1928.

In this video, Diddy somewhat represents the Maxell
Maxell
, commonly known as Maxell, is a Japanese company which manufactures consumer electronics. The company's notable products are batteries -- the company's name is a contraction of "maximum capacity dry cell" -- and recording media, including audio cassettes and blank VHS tapes, and recordable optical...

 "blown away guy".

The video begins with Diddy in a virtually empty white room except for the stereo equipment mentioned above, with the track "Diddy Rock", another track from Press Play, playing in the background. After his attractive female assistant asks Diddy if he wants her to "press play", the speakers and TV turn on and the track begins. While Diddy raps he is blown away by the power of the speakers, and Aguilera is seen on the television. By the time Aguilera's catchy hook comes in, the white room has shattered and Diddy and Aguilera are seen on either side of a fan in some sort of dark wind tunnel. It is now seen that Aguilera has donned a classy, sexy, yet modern look for the video, in contrast to the 20's and 30's glamorous look she has used to promote her own album
Back to Basics (Christina Aguilera album)
Back to Basics is the third studio album by American recording artist Christina Aguilera, first released on August 10, 2006 by RCA Records...

.

This setting then shatters in the middle of the second verse to feature clips of the two performers, as well as backup dancers, performing in front of flashing neon lights. As the song ends, the camera zooms out to show that the lights form the promotional "Press Play" symbol associated with the album.

Track listing

Track CD single
  1. "Tell Me" (Explicit Album Version) (featuring Christina Aguilera
    Christina Aguilera
    Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

    )
    - 4:06
  2. "Tell Me" (Instrumental) (featuring Christina Aguilera
    Christina Aguilera
    Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

    )
    - 4:26
  3. "Tell Me" (A Cappella) (featuring Christina Aguilera
    Christina Aguilera
    Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

    )
    - 4:36
  4. "Come To Me
    Come To Me (Diddy song)
    "Come to Me" is the first single released from Diddy's 2006 album Press Play. It features pop/R&B singer Nicole Scherzinger, lead vocalist of The Pussycat Dolls, and is her first solo appearance outside of the group.-History:...

    " (Explicit Version) (featuring Nicole Scherzinger
    Nicole Scherzinger
    Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....

    , Yung Joc
    Yung Joc
    YaMar Jon Robinson , better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper.-Early life:Robinson's father, Vivian Young, ran a hair-care products company and helped him write a jingle for Revlon; Robinson founded his own label to release his music.-New Joc City :After Teaming with producer...

    , Young Dro
    Young Dro
    D'Juan Hart , better known as Young Dro is an American Southern rapper from Bankhead, Georgia. He performed as Dro from 2000 until he signed to Grand Hustle Records in 2006, when he became known as Young Dro.- Discography :...

     & T.I.
    T.I.
    Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....

    )
    - 3:51


Remixes and Versions
  • Explicit Version
  • Clean Version
  • Radio Edit
  • Instrumental
  • Acapella
  • Amended Mixshow
  • Friscia & Lamboy Club Mix
  • Friscia & Lamboy Mix Radio Edit
  • Mixshow Version
  • Mr. Migg Radio Mix
  • Mr. Migg Dub
  • Mr. Migg Club Mix
  • DFA Club Mix
  • DFA Club Mix #2 (Without Diddy)
  • DFA Radio Mix
  • Switch Remix
  • Pull's Paranoid Remix (Findable on the official site of the remixer, Pull)
  • Pull Extended Remix

Chart performance

The track was moderate hit worldwide. It reached the top 10 in the UK at #8 (becoming Aguilera's 14th top 10 hit in the UK), and went top 20 in 15 different countries. The song debuted on the Top 75 singles chart in the UK at number 20, based on download sales alone, during the week ending Sunday 10 December. It climbed to number 8 the next week.
Unfortunately it was not a big hit in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 charting at only #47 on the Hot 100, becoming his lowest charting single since "Diddy" hit #66 back in 2001. Most critics gave the track good reviews and were sure that it would become another top 40 hit for him, but that was not that case. Some think that it was lack of promotion, some think that "Hurt
Hurt (Christina Aguilera song)
"Hurt" is a power ballad written by Christina Aguilera, Linda Perry and Mark Ronson for Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics . The song's lyrical content describes how one deals with the loss of a loved one, and it has received praise from pop music critics...

" which Aguilera's other song at the time disrupted the song's performance, though the song itself disappointed. This single was not released in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. But it was a hit in Bulgaria and Philippines.

Despite being only a minor success in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the song gained somewhat of a cult following or strong recurrent by some U.S. radio station playlists, and therefore some stations such has Philadelphia's Q102
WIOQ
WIOQ, known as "Q102", is a CHR/Pop radio station which is broadcast in the Philadelphia area. The station appeals to a generally young demographic. WIOQ is owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.-WFIL-FM/Popular 102:The...

 and Chicago's Kiss 103.5 still have the track in moderate rotation. "Tell Me" is the #7 most played song of Z100
Z100
-Internet TV:* Z100.TV, a website serving as an international directory of online TV-channels and associated video media-Radio:* WHTZ, 100.3 in New York City* KKRZ, 100.3 in Portland, Oregon* KZRO, 100.1 in Mount Shasta, California, a.k.a...

 New York the biggest radio station in the world proving further more that it was a huge hit in certain markets. It also made Z100's Top 100 of 2007 at #11, passing Rihanna's "Umbrella" and Kanye West's "Stronger". The single rank at number 33 on Year End Chart 2006 in Indonesia, meanwhile Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" rank at number 8 at the same chart.

The total is 529,000 singles sold from the week 04 to 10 of 2007.

Charts

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Chart (2007) Peak
position

Year-end charts

Charts (2007) Position
Australian Singles Chart 99
German Singles Chart 58
Swiss Singles Chart 69
UK Singles Chart (2006) 169
UK Singles Chart (2007) 113
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